Changes
by mell
Summary: Five months have gone since Tara died and Faith has got herself killed so a new slayer is in town with her watcher. And ‘cus she’s still very young and her watcher needs Buffy’s help with her training and accepting her destiny. And there are two new


Title: Changes  
  
Author: mel  
  
Email: hos_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13 (for now)  
  
Disclaimer: Joss and Mutant Enemy, etc. own BtVS. And if you see any resemblance to any living or dead person in this fic it means that you have ( very vivid imagination and seriously need to get ( life.  
  
Spoilers: Up to Grave  
  
Summary: Five months have gone since Tara died and Faith has got herself killed so a new slayer is in town with her watcher. And 'cus she's still very young and her watcher needs Buffy's help with her training and accepting her destiny. And there are two new BB in town.  
  
Archive: It's my first fic so I would be honored if you want to archive, just let me now where.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first fic so I would really appreciate some constructive criticism, so PLEASE review it!  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok, This first chapter is really not that exiting, but I need it to introduce the story. Bare with me, it will be more action coming up ahead. Promise. /Mel  
  
New Friends 'God, how boring.' she thought as she looked down at endless white clouds covering the sky. 'I can't even watch the ocean!'  
  
She sighed and turned her head toward the middle-aged man sitting in the chair next too her. But when she saw his gray suit, big glasses and his book on ancient myths she changed her mind.  
  
'I can at least ignore the clouds, a Watcher babbling on about some kind of 'Oh so interesting!' demon in Africa somewhere, is a little harder. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep for the twentieth time.  
  
The sky was blue. Bluer than she'd ever seen it before. And it was hot. Extremely hot. Almost unbearable. 'Where am I?' she thought and looked around. It looked like a desert, sand everywhere and not any people. At least she couldn't see any.  
  
"Hello!" she cried and started walking towards a place where she thought she'd seen something glimmer. It could be water. But as she walked, she felt like she didn't come anywhere. After realizing she wasn't making any progress she sat down and tried to figure out how she'd gotten there, and how she could get away. After a while the heat started getting to her and she dosed off, but she was brought back to reality only minutes later by someone grabbing her shoulders from behind. She tried to turn around to see who it was but she found that she couldn't move.  
  
"You're slayer strength won't help you here, little girl" ( soft voice told her and turned her around slowly. It was an old woman who looked very fragile, and dressed in a black coat that looked way to warm to be wearing in the heat. Confused, the girl just looked at her waiting for her to speak.  
  
"I can see you want answers," the old woman whispered, just hearable, " but I can't give them too you, not yet. But someone will, without knowing it, so remember to listen. Listen carefully." Then the old woman started to fade away before the girl had any time to ask what she was talking about. Then the world started to shake.  
  
"Wake up Sara, wake up! We're almost there." Gregory said, while shaking the fourteen-year-old in the seat next to him.  
  
"I'm up, I'm up!" she said half asleep before shoving the watcher of off her. " What time is it?"  
  
"Almost ten thirty, we should land in about ten minutes." He answered, going back to his book.  
  
Sara sighed and started packing up her things that she had unpacked earlier.  
  
"Have you seen my jacket?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had a terrible headache, and she could almost remember a dream she'd had, but every time she felt like she remembered it, it slipped away. 'If you don't think about it, it will come back to you', she said to herself, remembering what her mother always used to say. She would probably have said it now too if she'd been there, but she wasn't.  
  
"You're jacket?" Gregory said; sounding not at all interested. While turning to a new page in his book he said, " Have you checked on the floor?"  
  
Sara looked down, and there it was. She mumbled something that could have been thanks and continued packing up her things. As the plane started to land she realized for the first time that she wouldn't see her family in a very long time, if she ever would. She looked at the man in a gray tweed suit and graying hair sitting beside her that would be her only family from now one. 'My life sucks' she thought before turning back to the window and had her first look on Sunnydale.  
  
************* "Is it possible to wear this top to this skirt, or is that like a crime to all laws of fashion" a very stressed and irritated slayer asked her sister.  
  
" I don't know, ask Willow" came the helpful response.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes and walked downstairs to where her best friend where making dinner.  
  
"Going out?" she said, not taking her eyes from the pans for more then a second.  
  
"Yeah, David asked me out. But I don't know if I can wear this, I'm not really sure if the colors matches."  
  
"They don't" came Willows truthful response. "I think a white top would go much better with that skirt." She looked quickly down at the recipe before continuing. " So you finally decided to say yes then?"  
  
"To what?"  
  
"You know, David. He's been asking you at for three weeks and you've always said no, and now you're suddenly going out with him. Had a change of heart?"  
  
Buffy thought about it for a second before answering her friend's question.  
  
"I just decided that I can't be stuck in the past, I have to live a little. Well, at least as much as it's possible for me." After a short hesitation she continued. "Have you considered going out Willow? I don't mean, like on a date, but you know, just with friends, having fun." She took a breath. "I don't think Tara would have wanted you to stop living, I think she would have wanted you to go on."  
  
That said, Buffy looked up at her friend, unsure what her reaction would be. Willow just continued with the cooking with an unreadable expression on her face. The silence started to get to Buffy, she felt like running out of there, out from the sad memories that came back every time she saw Willows tired and aged face. She looked at least ten years older then she was.  
  
Finally Willow spoke.  
  
"I know. I know that, I know you're right. It's just hard. I want to go out and to have fun, but every time I think about it I just remember that she won't be there with me and then I just can't." After a short pause she continued. " I've been thinking about going to England. To Giles. He asked me a couple of weeks ago, but I said no, but now when I've thought about it, it might not be such a bad idea. To get away from all the memories. And to speak with some witches..."  
  
"Witches!" Buffy quickly interrupted her. "You're not going to start with magic again are you? Not after what happened last time?!" She shuddered at the memory.  
  
Willow gave her a comforting smile. "No, of course I won't start with magic again, but I still kinda want to, you know, do magic, it's really hard not to." She took a deep breath. "Giles told me about this group of witches that helps others that's gotten addicted. He thought it maybe would be a good idea for me too." she trailed of looking deeply into a pan with boiling water.  
  
Buffy gave her a hug and tried to sound confident as she spoke. "That might be a good idea, and I'm sure you'll get through this." 'You have too', she added silently in her mind.  
  
******************  
  
Gregory took his bag and started looking for Sara's. She was standing by the entrance waiting for him, looking very tired and unhappy. Gregory sighed and grabbed her bag.  
  
'Why couldn't she have been a little older?' he thought as he started to walk towards the young slayer he'd been assigned to watch, and train. The only problem was he didn't know how too. He knew the practical things, but making this small fourteen-year-old do it was another matter totally. He knew she was unhappy, and scared, and that the whole 'you're the slayer, there is vampires, demons and gods, it's you're job to kill them, deal with it', hadn't really sunk in yet. 'Why couldn't the powers have chosen someone older and more mature for this?' he thought for the hundred times.  
  
When she saw him approaching she gave him a fake smile, that wasn't at all hiding how sad she was, or how scared. 'Good thing she's going to meet another slayer soon, someone who she can talk to, and feel connected to.' He thought as he gave her a just as fake smile back.  
  
********************  
  
He was late. She maybe would have suspected he would be. Well, it wasn't like she cared, or anything. He was just a usual, normal guy. Kind of boring actually. He didn't make her laugh. But he was smart, and that was a good thing. Right? Well, at least he was cute. 'Yeah, very cute' she thought with a little smile. 'But not really me type'.  
  
After another ten minutes of waiting he finally came, with some lame excuse. By that time Buffy was so bored she really didn't care, so she just came with some vague answer and headed back home. 'I wasn't really in dating mood tonight anyway' she said to herself while walking up to the front door.  
  
*********************  
  
'There she is' Sara thought ' The legendary Buffy Summers. She doesn't look at all like I pictured her.'  
  
Sara had heard a lot of stories about the slayer that had lived longer than any other slayer and who had the nerve to break with the council. At first, it had just been small rumors, circling around the secretaries and such at the headquarter. But when Sara had become closer with a couple of the younger girls they started telling her more detailed stories about her. How she'd fought the Master, and a hell God. And how she wasn't alone with her watcher, like other slayers, she had friends, and a sister. A Life. Sara'd had a life before she was chosen, and a family, but at her 14th birthday, a man had come and told her that she was a Slayer, and explained what it was.  
  
She'd had to leave her family and live with the stuffy old watcher, Gregory Jones, at the council's headquarters in England while being trained. She was still not that good. Sure, she was strong, and she could a lot of fighting techniques, but she still wasn't emotionally ready to fight vampires on a daily basis. So after four months of training, the council had decided that there wasn't anything more they could teach her there, and said that she would just need some 'field practice', as they said it, and then she would get rid of her fear. And after lots of debate, they also decided that she should go to the hellmouth and help out the slayer there. But with strict orders to her watcher that he would not let her get badly influenced by the older slayer.  
  
So here she was, to fight 'The good fight', with people she didn't know, and who didn't even know she was coming.  
  
"There is no time like the present" she murmured looking up at her watcher who gave her a encouraging smile and pushed her lightly towards the front door of the Summer's house.  
  
******************  
  
Dawn yawned as she sat in the sofa watching TV. She wasn't really interested in what was on, she was just bored. And since Willow was totally depressed, even though she tried to hide it, and Buffy being, well Buffy, she didn't have much to do.  
  
She could have given anything to have Anya here to talk to, even though she usually was quite annoying. Xander would've been even better. But the two of them was out on a romantic holiday trying to fix their relationship. They had slowly started to talk to each other again and after about a month of 'we are just friends', they began to go back as they where before, just with Xander being a little tense about Anya being a demon again. But she'd decided about two weeks earlier that Xander was more important to her than being able to live forever and she got turned back human.  
  
Dawn was just about to fall asleep on the sofa as someone rang the doorbell. After cursing in her head and wondering whom it might be this late, she opened the door revealing a young girl and a man she had never seen before.  
  
"Yes?" She asked questionably looking at the two people standing in the doorway.  
  
"We're sorry to disturb you at such a late hour but we wonder if we could have a word with Miss Buffy Summer? I assume you are her sister?" the man said, who actually sounded a lot like Giles. 'If I didn't know any better, I would think he's a watcher' Dawn thought to herself before answering.  
  
"It's alright. My sister is upstairs, I will go get her." She quickly turned around and was just about to start going up the stairs when she walked right into her sister dressed in pajamas.  
  
"I heard someone at the door, who is it?" Buffy asked her little sister.  
  
"I don't know, it's a man that talks just like Giles and a girl in my age, maybe a little younger."  
  
Buffy walked to the hallway and gave the pair outside the door a quizzical look.  
  
"Hello", the watcher said, " as I said to you're sister, we're very sorry to disturb you this late, but we need to talk to you about a matter quite urgent."  
  
Buffy had to smile. The man really sounded like Giles. The thought just reminded her about how much she missed him.  
  
"It's alright, I'm used to being yanked out of bed at any hour of the night, for lots of different reasons. But I would really appreciate it if you could tell me who the two of you are first."  
  
"Well, of course, how rude of me. I'm Gregory Jones, and this" he pointed at the girl by his side "is Sara, the vampire slayer"  
  
"Huh?!" said both Summer's sisters at the same time.  
  
**************************  
  
"How old are you?" Buffy asked the young teenager sitting opposite her at the kitchen table.  
  
She looked very shy and quite scared.  
  
"Fourteen" she said, barely hearable.  
  
'She's just a child' Buffy thought as she looked at the shy girl that had been chosen after Faiths death four months ago. 'She's even younger then Dawn'  
  
"Uhm, so.." Buffy desperately tried to come up with something to say to her, but fell short. Finally, Dawn sensed the tenseness in the room and asked Sara if she wanted to see a movie. Buffy found it much easier to talk to the girl's watcher.  
  
"What was the 'urgent matter' you needed to discuss with me?" she said, curious about what had brought them to her house at 1 am.  
  
The Watcher got a guilty look on his face and he seemed to be searching for something to say.  
  
"Ehm.." he started, "I have something to confess. It wasn't really as important as I maybe implicated earlier." He looked down at the table. "It was just, well, Sara was really tired, and I didn't want her to have to sleep at a motel. And she was also really looking forward to meeting you. So I was hoping that you would be gracious enough to forgive our late intrusion of you're home and let us stay the night." He looked very ashamed of asking this, and Buffy still was shocked about how much he resembled Giles, so she answered before she even thought about it.  
  
"It's fine, I'm sure Dawn wont mind if Sara sleeps in her room and you could sleep on the sofa." Gregory looked very thankful, even though he seemed to still feel very bad about causing them any inconvenience.  
  
So thirty minutes later everyone was in bed.  
  
********************  
  
"Good morning!" Willow says she came down the stairs, still dressed in her pajamas. "What's fore breakf." she started but trailed off as she saw two complete strangers sitting at the table drinking tea. "Who are.." she started again when she saw Buffy come in and she hurried over to her.  
  
"Relax Will, I will tell you all about it." Buffy assured her and led her to the table. "This is Sara," she said pointing at Sara, who smiled shyly back at her, " and this is Gregory." She said and pointed at the watcher that stood up from his chair to shake hands with the confused witch.  
  
"How do you do." He said smiling at her, " I'm Gregory James, it's really nice to meet you. Miss Summers told us about you when she made some tea."  
  
"Hello, nice to meet you two" Willow said, giving him a polite, but still very confused smile.  
  
She looked questionably at Buffy who made her sit down at the table.  
  
"Ok, this is the thing. You know Faith died about four months ago, right?" Buffy started, Willow just nodded in response. " Well, " her friend continued, "Sara is the new slayer and Mr. James here, is her Watcher."  
  
Buffy waited as the information sunk in. Willow just nodded again. "Well, I still don't know exactly why they are here, but they where going to tell me after they'd had their tea.  
  
"Ok," Willow said, "so, how old are you Sara?"  
  
Sara, who was still very unsure of her self, took a deep breath before answering.  
  
"Fourteen".  
  
"Oh", was Willow's short response as she took a cup of tea herself.  
  
"Maybe we should start discussing the matter of why we're here." The Watcher suggested and got a quick nod as an answer from Buffy. "Well, as you said, Sara was chosen four months ago, when the former slayer, Faith, died under mysterious circumstances. We then took Sara to the Councils Headquarters because she was so young, and not yet ready to take on her duties as a slayer. She's been trained there until about two days ago when it was decided that she was ready to take on her duties. But because she is still so young, and in need of guidance, I suggested that she should be trained, or at least accompany, the slayer in Sunnydale, in other words you, Miss Summers. The Council was at first reluctant to that because of some of the events in the past when you've not done as the council has said. But I was able to convince them that Sara would be a better slayer if she was thought by the current slayer, who had showed great success in the fight against darkness." He took a break to take another cup of tea. "So, long story short, here we are, and I'm asking you to please, help train Sara. I know you have many responsibilities, and I feel bad about asking you to take on more, but in a while, when Sara's fully trained, she will be able to help you out, maybe even take over, you're responsibility as a slayer." When he finished he looked Buffy straight in the eyes and waited for her answer.  
  
At first Buffy just sat there, not knowing what to say. Knowing that saying yes would mean a lot of work, and more things to do wasn't exactly on her top ten list of things she wanted. But still, it was something with the girl that made Buffy want to help her out. Finally she spoke.  
  
"I need to talk to my sister and Willow about this. It's a lot to decide, and you where right when you said that I already had many responsibilities. But I promise I will try to come up with a solution." She stood up and motioned Willow to come with her upstairs.  
  
  
  
*******************  
  
Willow and Dawn sat down on Buffy's bed as she closed the door. She looked thoughtful for a moment before she started talking.  
  
"Ok, I know this is taking on more responsibilities, which I really don't need right now, but I just really wanna help this girl." She sat down on a chair, waiting for their reactions. Dawn was the first to answer.  
  
"I like her. She doesn't talk that much, but when she does she's really nice. And if you want, I can help her out. I maybe isn't as good as you, but I can show her around, help her study the books, that kind of thing."  
  
Buffy looked gratefully at her babysister before looking at Willow. Her friend took a little more time before answering.  
  
"I guess I could help out too." she started, before looking down at the floor. "But you remember that thing we talked about yesterday, about me going to England? Well, I talked to Giles after that and we decided that I'm going to go there next week."  
  
Buffy looked at her for a moment, not knowing what to say. Of course, she wanted her friend to be all right again, and the England trip could make that happen, but also, she wanted her to stay.  
  
"I understand," she said, sounding more confident then she was, "I think you should go. You should think about getting well first, we can always cope. And you can always come back, you know."  
  
Dawn just stared at Willow, not wanting her to go. But after thinking about it for a while she decided that it wasn't the time to be selfish.  
  
"I agree with Buffy, you should go. I can help out a little more at home and Xander and Anya will be home tomorrow."  
  
Willow just looked unsure up at here best friend and the girl she looked upon as her own sister and nodded.  
  
"Then that's settled", Buffy said, "I will go down and tell them that I will help them out, and then you, Dawn, maybe can show them around town..?"  
  
"Sure, I'll do that. And I can help them look for an apartment too."  
  
********************  
  
Trina stood in the shadows outside the house looking in on the two slayers and the watcher talking in the kitchen. The darkness had just come and she a several hours of watching to do.  
  
********************'  
  
"So, Xander, what about us just going home directly. I've really been longing for trying the things in our new book." The ex-demon said, very loudly, at the airport. Her boyfriend looked around with a red was at the people who had turned their heads to look at the couple.  
  
"Anya, do you have to talk so loud?" He asked, blushing.  
  
She just rolled her eyes and picked up her bag. "I never mentioned the word 'sex'. I could have been talking about cooking!" She said annoyed at her boyfriend.  
  
He just looked at her and grabbed his bag. "No, we can't go home, I promised Buffy that we where going to come by her house directly. She had someone there that she wanted us to meet."  
  
"Ok, but as soon as we've done that, we go home!" Anya said, not leaving it out for discussion.  
  
******************  
  
"Alright Sara, no you're going to meet on of Buffy's best friends and his girlfriend. Oh, and she can be kind of embarrassing, just so you know." Dawn told her younger friend as they went down for breakfast. Sara just followed her not saying anything. She really liked Dawn, but she still wasn't really sure of herself. In the three days she'd spent in the Summer's house she hadn't spoken more then ten times.  
  
As she walked down the stairs she got a very strange feeling, like the ones she'd got when she had been close to vampires. She quickly looked around, and out through a window to the garden that still was very dark in the early morning. She thought she could see something move, but she wasn't sure, and it was only for a second, then it was gone. Sara thought about telling Dawn this, but she didn't want them to think she was still scared, even if she was.  
  
************************  
  
Spike took a final drag from his cigarette before throwing it on the ground. He wondered whom the dark-haired young girl was that had been walking down the stairs with Dawn. 'Probably just one of her friends from school' he thought, dismissing her. He'd come back to Sunnydale during the night and had immediately walked to Buffy's house, not daring to come in. He was afraid she'd de-invited him or that she would stake him on sight. Even though he knew he deserved it. But he really wanted to see her, just on glimpse. And it had been really good to see Dawn again. There he at least had one person that didn't hate him. Or, at least he hoped so, he didn't think anyone had told her about the bathroom incident. But if they had, she probably hated him just as much as the others. 'I've really screwed up' he thought before walking up to the front door. She probably wouldn't let him in, but this was his last chance for the morning, because the sun was coming up, and he needed shelter. After knocking at the door he waited nervously for Dawn to open. When she did he had an unreadable expression on her face.  
  
"What do you want?" came her hard question, and all his hopes of being greeted as a friend by her disappeared.  
  
"Hi nibblet, I was just." he trailed off, not knowing what to say to her. "I was hoping that I could maybe. come in, and, you know, talk a little. Or something like that." When she just stood there, not doing anything he took a large unnecessary breath. "I know what I did was unforgivable, and I don't expect you to just forgive and forget," she looked at him like he was invisible, like he wasn't there. "I'm sorry."  
  
She continued staring at him, not looking like she was going to answer. He was afraid that she would slam the door in his face. But then he heard footsteps coming towards him, and then Buffys voice.  
  
"Dawn, who is." she trailed off as she saw him, looking completely lost, not knowing how to react to his sudden reappearance. He didn't know what to say to her, all he could think about was how beautiful she was and how hurt she'd looked when.. He didn't even want to think about the event that had lead to him leaving. He just repeated what he'd said to Dawn a minute earlier.  
  
"I'm sorry." He looked her straight in the eyes, hoping to see something that would indicate that she had forgiven him. She just stood there, staring at him for what felt like hours but really was just a couple of minutes. Finally, Dawn broke the silence.  
  
"Should I let him in?" she asked looking concerned at her sister's confused and hurt face. Buffy nodded and walked into the kitchen.  
  
Spike took another breath and started walking in when an invisible barrier stopped him. He'd been de-invited. After staring at him for a short moment Dawn said the magic words.  
  
"Come in Spike", and she added, "but if you do anything to my sister, you are out faster than you can say, 'sorry'!" With that she also turned around and walked into the kitchen. This was going to be even harder then he'd thought.  
  
*********************  
  
Buffy was confused. Her mind told her that she should hate the blond that was sitting opposite her at the table, but she couldn't stop thinking about how ashamed he looked, and also, there was something different about him, something that hadn't been there before. But she couldn't really come up with what it was.  
  
"I have you're duster" came her first words to him. "It's upstairs."  
  
He just looked at her and nodded slowly, not knowing what to say. His head was filled with things he wanted to tell her, but he didn't know where to start. Then suddenly, the dark-haired girl he'd seen with Dawn earlier came in and just stared at him.  
  
"You are a. " She started, confused to see a vampire in the slayers kitchen. She looked at Dawn. "Why is it a vampire in you're kitchen?"  
  
"I could ask the same thing." Dawn answered looking at Spike angrily.  
  
Buffy sighed. "He can't hurt you, Sara. He can't hurt anyone."  
  
"He could obviously hurt you, Buffy." Dawn said coldly.  
  
Spike looked at her, trying to come up with something that would make her understand how sorry he was. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. I would never do it again. I would do anything for you to forgive me." He said, not knowing which one of the sisters he was talking to. And when Buffy spoke, it took him by surprise.  
  
"What have you done? You're different." She said, looking him straight in the eyes.  
  
"Well, I." he started, not knowing how to continue. Then he decided just to tell her from the beginning. From the moment when he walked out from her bathroom. "I was really sorry about what I'd done to you, and I was confused. I didn't know why I'd done, or why I didn't go through with it." He looked down at his hands. "I wanted to go back as I was before. I went to Africa, and I met this demon. He, made me do a lot of tests..."  
  
"What kind of tests?" Buffy interrupted.  
  
"Fighting different demons, that kind of thing. Well, I made it. I did all of the tests and then he gave me what I came for." Spike became silent, not wanting to look at anyone of the three girls in the room.  
  
"And what was that?" came Sara's quiet question from the corner. 'Something is strange with that girl' Spike thought before going back to his story.  
  
"My soul."  
  
The kitchen where then filled with a lot of 'What!?', 'Huh?', 'How?', and 'Why?'s. He just continued looking at his hands and thinking that he really needed a cigarette.  
  
"I don't believe you!" Dawn said before running out of the house.  
  
**************************  
  
'Trina will be very pleased' Colin thought as he saw the young girl running out of the house angrily. 'I wonder who the vampire is that they let in in their house, Trina will be very interested by this." he continued as he walked silently closer to the house so that he could hear what was said.  
  
***************************  
  
"Dawn, come back!" Buffy cried as her sister ran out.  
  
"Let her go, she's just upset." Spike said calmly. "Well, she's my sister, and I don't want her to be out running before the sun's come up." Buffy said, mad at the vampire for telling her what to do. He sighed and looked out the window.  
  
"The sun is coming up in just a little while, and most vampires have already taken shelter."  
  
She just stared at him. "Oh, don't be so bloody stubborn!" he said before thinking.  
  
"Well, and that should come from you, mister 'I'm-irresistable-So-Buffy- most-love-me-even-though-she-says-she-don't'!?" she answered quickly. That hit him right in his unbeating hart and he looked away again, not wanting her to see his pained expression. At that moment a tired Willow and a newly showered Watcher walked in to the room. Willow stopped in the door just staring at the blond vampire that she hadn't seen since before Tara died five months earlier. When she saw Buffy's angry face she walked up to him.  
  
"What are you doing here!?" she asked him angrily, thinking he must have done something more to Buffy do to her friend's angry expression.  
  
"Hi Red." He said looking up at her. "Just visiting. How's Blondie?" At the mention of Tara Willow felt all the pain filling her again and she turned around, not wanting anyone to see her tears. Spike looked around the room, confused, not knowing what he'd said wrong. Buffy walked up to Willow and gave her a hug and then motioned Spike to follow her out from the kitchen.  
  
"A lot has happened since you left. " she started, then she told him all about Tara's death and what Willow did. Spike was shaken from what he heard. He had always liked Tara, and he could imagine how Willow felt, since he had gone through it himself when Buffy had died.  
  
"I'm really sorry," he said. "I should have been here, maybe I could have helped." he trailed off not looking at Buffy. "But I guess, at the time, no one would have wanted me here." He paused. "I don't know if anyone wants me here now either." He looked up at Buffy, hoping that she would tell him that she was glad he was there. But she just looked at him and nodded lightly before walking back into the kitchen.  
  
"I guess I should introduce you, " she said, motioning him to come with her. "I forgot to tell you that Faith died four months ago." She added.  
  
"How?" he asked, starting to realize what the young girl was.  
  
"We don't know, Angel called me and said that she'd been found dead. He didn't know how she died." She pointed at Sara. "This is Sara. " realizing she don't know her last name she looked at her questionably.  
  
Sara walked up to Spike, not knowing if she should shake his hand, him being a vampire and all.  
  
"I'm Sara Larsen," she said, not shaking his hand. Her Watcher, whom hadn't yet heard that the blond man in front of her was a vampire, looked at her disapprovingly at her un-politeness.  
  
"And I'm Gregory Jones" he said, shaking the vampires hand. He quickly drew it back when he felt how could the other man hand was. He looked confused at Spike, then at Buffy.  
  
"What.." he started, before being interrupted by the older Slayer.  
  
"He is a vampire, " this made the watcher quickly take a couple of steps back from the blond. "but he can't hurt anyone," Buffy added, "and he has a soul." Her last words made Willow look up in surprise.  
  
"How..?" she said.  
  
"Long story Red, I'll tell you later. But know I would appreciate it if I could go somewhere in the house where the sun can't come in. " he said, noticing the first beams of sunlight coming in from the window. Buffy looked at him, not sure if she should give him a blanket and let him run to his crypt or let him stay. But in the end it wasn't her that made the decision.  
  
"I can cover the windows in the livingroom for you if you want." Sara said quietly. "If that is ok with Buffy."  
  
Buffy nodded and went upstairs to get some blankets.  
  
*********************************  
  
"How did he look like?" Trina asked Colin who had just finished telling her about what he'd heard about the souled vampire and the new slayer.  
  
"Bleached hair, black clothes. I didn't really get a good look at him." Colin answered while taking a chair from the wall and bringing it to the womanize side. "But I heard his name." He added just before he sat down.  
  
"And? What was it?" Trina asked impatiently. "What was it, little brother?"  
  
"Spike." He answered. His sister's expression was a look of surprise as she heard the name.  
  
"Do you know of him?"  
  
"Yes," she said. "Yes I do". An evil grin spread across the vampires face.  
  
  
  
******************  
  
"Hello!" Anya yelled through the open door into the house. Nobody answered.  
  
She and Xander walked slowly into the hallway that was only lit by one small lamp that didn't give away that much light. Confused, the couple walked slowly further into the house, surprised that no one was there. It was dark and absolutely quiet.  
  
"I don't think anyone's home, An. " Xander said to his girlfriend just as six people jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!"  
  
Anya smiled widely when she saw the trouble their friends had gone through. But her smile disappeared when she saw the look on her boyfriend's face. "What?" she asked not knowing what was wrong.  
  
Xander just continued staring ahead at someone standing in a corner of the room. After looking a moment her eyes adjust to the darkness and she saw who it was. She would recognize that bleached hair and black duster anywhere.  
  
"Hello Spike." She said with a smile, not chairing her boyfriends hate for the vampire. Spike walked slowly towards them.  
  
"Hi to you to, Anya. So, where have you and the Whelp been?" That did it. Xander ran forward hitting him in the jaw so that he fell backwards. Before Xander had time to hit him again Spike rolled to the side and got up. "I see you're not glad to see me." Spike said dryly while avoiding another blow.  
  
After a couple of minutes of Xander trying to hit the vampire, unsuccessfully, Buffy walked in between them and grabbed the brunette in the arm.  
  
"It's okay Xand," she said before letting him go. He was about to start going after Spike again when he saw everyone in the room looking at him disapprovingly. He turned around and walked back to Anya.  
  
"How could you let him in here after what he did?!" he angrily asked Buffy.  
  
She looked at him seriously before answering.  
  
"Because I trust him."  
  
Xander looked at her disbelievingly. "You what?"  
  
"Look whelp, I'm sorry for what I did, and if I could go back and change the past I would, but I can't. But the last couple of months I've changed." Spike took a breath. "I have a soul now. That was why I left, I wanted to change because I was so ashamed of what I'd done. After I got my soul back I traveled around, just thinking. I was at first planning on not coming back here, but I couldn't stay away." He looked lovingly at Buffy, who immediately looked the other way. "I couldn't stay away not knowing if Buffy hated me. And when I came here, I found out she didn't." He stopped, looking at Buffy who was staring at her hands. The words hadn't been for Xander, it had been for her. "I love you," he said so quietly only Buffy could hear it.  
  
Then she looked up into his eyes.  
  
"I know," she swallowed, feeling badly for doing this to him. "But I don't love you, and I don't think I ever will." All the hope that had been on his face disappeared and he quickly left the house.  
  
"Anyone want cake?" Dawn asked, trying to look cheerful in the tense quiet that filled the room.  
  
"Oh, yes!" Anya said taking a big peace.  
  
After hours of talking about Xander and Anya's holiday and introducing the couple to Sara and Gregory they went to bed.  
  
***************************  
  
Sara woke up from her dream, she knew that it wasn't the first time she'd had it, but she couldn't understand what it meant. She couldn't sleep anymore so she walked out of the room that she shared with Dawn until she and her watcher could find an apartment.  
  
When arriving downstairs she found her watcher having a conversation with the cute blond vampire that had stayed the night. She stood in the shadows watching them for a while. 'He looks so sad' she thought when Spike looked up at her.  
  
"Good morning" he said, trying to sound cheerful, "or maybe good night. Which time is it?" he asked the watcher.  
  
"4 am" he answered after looking at his watch, "You should be in bed, Sara." She walked up to them and sat down in the armchair beside the sofa. "I couldn't sleep. I had a really strange dream."  
  
"Yeah? What about?" the vampire asked turning to her. "Slayer dreams can be really important. Buffy's dreamt things that later turned out actually happening." He looked at Sara, wanting her to tell him about it. She was still unsure about how to act in front of the vampire, so she looked at Gregory, wanting him to tell her what to do.  
  
"Tell us about it." Her watcher said. He'd had a very interesting conversation with the vampire and found himself forgetting that Spike wasn't human. But he felt like the man could be trusted, much do to the things Willow had told him about how Spike had helped them in the past, and the fact that Buffy had said she trusted him. But she hadn't told him about the reasons for Spike leaving five months earlier.  
  
"I was in a desert, and a very old woman came and told me that I should listen very carefully to other people, because someone would tell me the answer to my questions without knowing it themselves." She paused, looking at the two men in front of her. "But I don't know what questions she was talking about. But it sounded important."  
  
Spike nodded and leaned back in the sofa with a thoughtful expression on his face.  
  
"Have their been any unusual events here lately?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"I really couldn't tell." Gregory answered. "We've only been here a couple of days. You'll have to ask Miss Summers."  
  
Spike nodded and went back to his thoughts. Sara felt really misplaced in the room with the two men trying to figure out what her dream meant and decided to go back to sleep.  
  
******************************  
  
Colin was hungry, and he wasn't really looking forward to drinking pigs- blood. But Trina had decided that they where going to lay low for a while until they knew more bout the two slayers and the vampire that was working with them. They needed to as much as possible about them if they where going to go through with their 'Big Plan' as Trina put it. But Colin barely knew anything about it. He just did as his older sister told him, as always.  
  
********************************  
  
Dawn was still angry. She didn't know exactly why she was angry, just that she was. But it was Spike's fault. He shouldn't have come back. Every time she saw him she got reminded of how much he'd betrayed her and Buffy's trust. At least he didn't sleep in their house anymore, and that was a good thing. He'd gotten his crypt back from Clem. But he still was at their house a lot. She couldn't understand why, because Buffy barely spoke to him and they didn't have a big crisis in the vampire or demon area either. But Spike came every day after sunset anyway. He even took Sara and her watcher out on patrol during the nights so she could have some practice, but in four nights they hadn't seen even one vampire. So Sara hadn't got that much training.  
  
Dawn walked down to watch some TV. And of course, there he was. But he wasn't going to keep her from watching TV in her own house. She walked up to him and sat down in the sofa.  
  
"Oh, hi nibblet," he greeted her and smiled. 'Why does he have to be so nice!?' she thought angrily while picking up the remote.  
  
"What 're you gonna see?" he asked, still trying to make her talk to him. After a while he got sick of her ignoring him and took the remote from her.  
  
"We need to talk." He said shutting of the TV. "I know you don't want too, and that you're angry at me, and I can bloody well understand that, but please stop ignoring me, lil'bit." he looked pleadingly at her and she couldn't help but think that she maybe should just forgive him.  
  
"What do you want?" she finally said. He looked pleased.  
  
"Can't we be friends again. I know you hate me for what I did to Buffy, and I don't expect you to forgive me but this is starting to be ridiculous. We should at least be able to talk to each other."  
  
Dawn took a deep breath and turned to look at him.  
  
"You promise that you won't do anything to hurt my sister again, ever?"  
  
"Yes" he said, "Even though I doubt that I will ever be in a position again to be able to hurt her." he added.  
  
"Alright," Dawn said, stretching out her hand towards him." Friends?"  
  
He took her hand.  
  
"Friends." He answered with a smile.  
  
******************************  
  
Xander was mad.  
  
'How the hell can they let that thing into their house after what he did!?' he thought, while waiting for Anya who was getting ready. 'And how could Buffy say that she trusts him?!'. 'I'm not going to survive this dinner' he thought. ' Having that thing at the table , knowing what he did is going to drive me crazy.'  
  
When Anya was finally finished they walked hand in hand to Buffy's house where they where having a dinner to celebrate Gregory and Sara's new apartment. Xander had barely spoken to the two of them, since the last time he met them he wasn't in a very good mood. But Anya had immediately started talking with the Watcher about some ancient demon that he had encountered in England, and she had also talked to the girl, even though Sara was so shy she barely said a thing.  
  
Deep in thought, he at first didn't hear Anya speak to him, but when he suddenly got knocked over by someone, making him fall hard against the asphalt, he heard her scream. Looking up he saw two vampires dragging her away from him, towards the cemetery. He was very dizzy from the blow and had trouble getting up. He looked helplessly as the love of his life was taken away from him before everything went black.  
  
*************************  
  
It was Sara who found him. All of the Scooby's, including Sara and Gregory, went out looking for the couple when they was over one hour late. So when Sara saw his lifeless body lying on the street she thought he looked dead. But when she grabbed him she could fell his warm breath on her hands. With a smile of relief, she made him sit up against a tree and tried to wake him up. When he finally opened his eyes Buffy and Dawn had also arrived and was searching the area for any trace of Anya.  
  
"They took her.." Xander whispered slowly. Sara quickly called for the two sisters to come and help Xander up.  
  
"Where's Anya, Xander?" Buffy asked while putting his arm around her shoulder, motioning at Dawn to do the same. "What happened?"  
  
"They took her" he repeated, sounding like he wasn't very clear in his head.  
  
"Who took her?" Dawn asked, trying to hold him up.  
  
"I think he needs to lie down" Sara said helping them half carry, half drag the barely conscius brunette.  
  
Ten minutes later Xander was lying on the sofa in Buffy's house with ice pressed against his forehead, that had started to turn red. Everyone sat or stood there waiting for him to be so clear that he could tell them what had happened.  
  
"It was vampires." He started. "Two of them. One guy and one girl. They knocked me down and took Anya. I tried to help her, but I couldn't."he trailed off, looking as he would become unconscious again.  
  
"I think he should go to the hospital." Willow said, looking worryingly at her friend. "He doesn't look too good."  
  
Xander immediately became more awake and said angrily;  
  
"No hospital! We need to find Anya. Who knows what those monsters will do to her. She might already be." he couldn't finish the sentence.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll find her." Buffy said, sounding surer then she was.  
  
************************  
  
The pain started to wear off. But she still couldn't see anything. Or maybe it was just the darkness. 'Where am I?' the ex-demon thought, trying to see something in the dark room.  
  
She could hear someone walking not to far from her. Anya tried to say something, but found that her mouth was covered. She started to panic.  
  
  
  
Trina watched the woman she and her brother had taken to their home. She had just opened her eyes and where trying to break free. An evil grin spread over the vampires face as she walked over to the scared woman.  
  
"Hello sweetness," she said softly. "You want me to let you free?"  
  
Anya looked up and could barely make out a form of a person standing in the darkness before her. She tried to answer but again she found her mouth was covered. Trina walked closer and took the cloth from her prisoner's mouth.  
  
"You want to say something?" she whispered in Anya's ear.  
  
"Who are you?" Anya said, so quiet Trina wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for her vampire hearing. Trina smiled at the ex-demon before walking away further into the darkness.  
  
Colin had been standing in the corner of the big room watching his sister play with her victim.  
  
"What shall we do with her?" he asked his sister, almost feeling sorry for the young woman.  
  
Trina smiled.  
  
"We shall play with her, my dear brother. Make her break."  
  
He looked at her, not sure if he where making a mistake questioning her.  
  
"For what purpose?" he asked, a little worried if he was making her angry with him. But she just continued smiling.  
  
"I will tell you when the time comes. But she will be very useful for our plan." She said, still smiling, but with a hard tone in her voice. Colin understood that this what not the time to push his sister for more information and just nodded.  
  
*****************************  
  
Two days had gone since Anya's kidnapping, and still her friends had found no trace of her. It was time for Willow to travel too England, and she was very unsure if she was making the right thing.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" she asked Xander after he'd driven her to the airport. He looked at her with tired eyes and tried to smile.  
  
"I'm sure. We are five people looking for her day and night. I don't think it would make any difference if you are there or not." He paused, giving her another fake smile. "Not that you aren't useful, I just meant. Well, you know what I meant."  
  
Willow smiled at him and gave her friend one last hug.  
  
"Wait, five people? You are six." She said, confused. Xander looked at her for a moment before answering.  
  
"I said 'people', I don't think Spike fits in that category." The brunette said while pushing her to her gate. "Time to leave now, Willow. Have a nice trip."  
  
She smiled and waved him goodbye.  
  
***********************************  
  
Buffy was in a strange mood. She knew she should be worrying about Anya, and she was, but she just couldn't push Spike out of her thoughts. When he had come back she hadn't known what to do. At first she felt like she should hate him, or at least be angry with him, but she wasn't. She had been going around the past months when he'd been gone trying not to think of him. But sometimes he had sneaked into her dreams and thoughts when she was relaxed. But she had refused to admit to herself that she had actually been missing him. His eyes looking at her lovingly. His supportive words when she felt depressed. Him following her out on patrol and taking care of Dawn. She had just taken him for granted. Buffy hadn't realized how big part of her life he had been until he was gone. So when he came back, all the anger that she had had inside of her just vanished, because it felt so good to see him again.  
  
But she couldn't tell him that. That would mean encouraging him into thinking that she had feelings for him, and she hadn't. Right?  
  
*******************************  
  
Spike was depressed. He felt un-useful. He couldn't find Anya, okay, no one had been able to find her but. And he couldn't find any information about why any vampires would want to kidnap her. If they'd wanted to kill her someone would have found her by now. And he couldn't help Buffy.  
  
He had seen how unhappy she looked, and he knew that his reappearance hadn't exactly helped. He maybe should have stayed away. She didn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. She didn't even look at him.  
  
So when he came into the kitchen in her house and found her crying he didn't know what to do. If he tried to comfort her, she maybe would yell at him to leave her alone, but if he didn't, what kind of a friend was he? So he slowly walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"You alright, pet?" he asked softly, afraid she would shut him out. But she just looked up at him, with eyes filled with desperation.  
  
"What if she dies?" she asked with a tiny voice. "First Tara, and now Anya. I don't know if I could take that." She swallowed and turned her face from him so he wouldn't see her tears. She hated being weak in front of him.  
  
After a moment of hesitation he put his arm around her shoulders and sat down next to her.  
  
"We'll find her. I'm sure we'll find her." He said, trying to sound convincing.  
  
She put her head against his chest and cried.  
  
***********************************  
  
Sara didn't know what to do. When she had first come here, the slayer and her friends had given her a lot of attention, helping her train and taking her out on patrols, even though they hadn't seen a vampire for almost a month. But now. Their friend had been kidnapped, and the young slayer really wanted to help, but neither she nor her watcher knew what to do. She had just started to learn how to find her way in Sunnydale, but she found herself being lost almost every day. If it hadn't been for Dawn she would probably have given up and just stayed in the apartment. But the older slayer's sister came every night and took her out on patrol, looking for any trace of the missing woman. She and Dawn had become really good friends during the last couple of days, and it felt good to have someone to talk to. But most of the time, the young girl felt like she was just in the way.  
  
At 10 pm Dawn knocked on her door. Sara had just taken a shower and was drying her long black hair with a towel.  
  
Without waiting for someone to open the door to the apartment, Dawn came in.  
  
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "You up for patrol? I have a feeling today is The Day."  
  
Sara looked at her confused.  
  
"The Day?"  
  
Dawn smiled.  
  
"You know, I think we'll find out something of where Anya is. It's just a feeling I have." She went in to Sara's bedroom and came back with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. "Get dressed now, and come on!"  
  
Sara had to smile at her friend's enthusiasm. Even though she really didn't share it. She was afraid that they wouldn't find Anya, or if they did, she wouldn't be alive. But she didn't want to spoil her friend's good mood so she took the clothes and went into her bedroom to get dressed.  
  
Five minutes later the two teenagers' where walking too one of Sunnydale's cemeteries, the one the vampires had taken Anya too. But they couldn't find any trace of vampires there this night either, just as the other nights since Anya's disappearance.  
  
As they started walking back home they didn't see Colin standing in the shadows under a tree watching them, just as he had the other nights.  
  
*******************************  
  
Trina was getting inpatient. She had tried everything to make the woman break, but every time she felt like she was getting close, Anya just looked her in the eyes and said over and over again; "They will find me, They will find me".  
  
Trina hadn't planned to use physical force on her, but the mental torture she had been using didn't work on the ex-demon. The vampire wasn't to found of torturing her victims with knifes and such, it just made a mess. But now she felt like she had no choice.  
  
Just as she had gone and gotten some weapons to use on the woman, Colin walked in.  
  
'Why don't let him do it', she thought walking up to her younger brother.  
  
"I want you to do something for me." She said, giving him a big knife. He looked up at her confused, not understanding what to do with the weapon. "I want you to break her. You can do whatever you want, just don't kill her. I will go out for a couple of hours, and when I come back, I want her to be ready to do exactly what I want her to do. "  
  
Colin looked up at his older sister, wanting to make her change her mind, but realizing this wasn't he time to go against her will.  
  
"I will do as you say." He said, looking at the knife with disgust. "Good," she said before walking out of their home.  
  
Colin sighed and walked up to Anya.  
  
"Hiya." He said looking at her, not really knowing what to do.  
  
He wasn't that old, his sister had turned him just two years ago. Trina's sire had been a master vampire and he had taught her many things. But he had been dusted by the slayer a couple of months earlier, and Trina wanted revenge. Colin's sister had lost all sense of compassion when she was turned, but he was different. He didn't know why, but he often found himself feeling sorry for his victims. His grandsire had felt that and had been trying to convince Trina to kill her brother. But she hadn't. Colin guessed that he should be grateful for that, even though he really didn't care whether he lived or not. But he still felt like he should stay with his sister, because before they where turned, they had been really close, more like best friends then brother and sister. Probably because their parents had died when they where very young. Colin looked at the young woman in front of him, thinking that she had family too, people who would miss her. He really didn't want to inflict such pain in the slayer and her friends, because unlike his sister, he hadn't felt like it had been a big loss when Trina's sire was killed.  
  
"Tell me about you're family. Tell me about he people you love." He said softly to the frightened woman. She looked at him in surprise, she had never heard a vampire speak with such compassion and sympathy in his voice, except from Spike and Angel.  
  
"What?" she said, not understanding if it was some kind of trick to get information from her about Buffy and the others.  
  
"Please." He said looking at her right in the eyes. Without thinking, Anya started talking, and she talked for over an hour about Xander, Buffy, Dawn and all the others. When she was finished, the vampire just continued looking at her, and then nodded.  
  
"Thank you." He said and walked away, without having touched her even once.  
  
*******************************  
  
Buffy wasn't sure what she was doing. It was bad enough that she had let him comfort her when she was sad, but to invite him to stay at her house during the day, even if it was just to sleep in Willows room that they had turned into a guest room while she was away, that was bad. She really didn't want to give him the wrong impression, she felt like she owed him that much. But in the same time, she felt less unhappy when he was around, which she of course wouldn't admit to anyone, even to herself. So when he came down as the sun started to set she had decided to be nice to him, but in a way that couldn't possibly be seen as anything more than 'Just friends'. But when she saw him coming down the stairs smiling at her, she couldn't help but blush. When he saw the affect he had on her he smiled even wider and walked up to her.  
  
"Any sign of Anya yet?" he asked, looking her straight in her eyes. Buffy tried to break the eye contact but couldn't find the will power to do it.  
  
"No," she said, fighting to keep her voice calm. "But I was planning on going out again soon.  
  
"Okay, " he said, still looking into her eyes. "I can come with you, just wait a couple of minutes so I can eat." He said, finally looking away as he walked up to the fridge taking out a bag of blood that he had brought earlier. She tried to come up with a good reason to say no, but found none. So she quickly stood up.  
  
"I need to go change." She said to no one in particular, as Dawn and Sara came in to make themselves some dinner. Just as she walked out through the door she turned around.  
  
"Dawn, you and Sara wanna come with me and Spike out on patrol?"  
  
Dawn looked at her, surprised that her sister wanted her to come with her when she finally would have a chance to tell Spike how she felt for him. 'I don't understand why she feel like she has to hide it' Dawn said before answering.  
  
"Actually, we have to say no," she said, looking at Sara to make sure she didn't object." Me and Sara have other plans." She lied.  
  
Buffy looked at Sara who quickly nodded before looking at dawn confused. The older slayer then turned quickly around and ran upstairs.  
  
"What was that all about? Weren't we just talking about how we had nothing to do?" Sara whispered to Dawn as they walked up to Spike.  
  
"I tell you later." Dawn said giving the blond vampire a bright smile before opening the fridge.  
  
'What is she up to now?' Spike thought before drinking up his blood.  
  
  
  
Buffy felt like she had nothing to wear. Nothing was right. After trying seven different outfits she gave up and just took the one nearest.  
  
'It's not like it matters what I wear' she thought, 'I'm just going out on patrol with Spike.'  
  
**********************************  
  
Something was wrong. Trina couldn't really put her finger on what it was, but something was definitely wrong. It was something with the smell.  
  
Then she realized it. It should smell like blood in there. But it didn't. She immediately walked up to her prisoner and looked at her closely. She couldn't see even one little wound.  
  
'Why hasn't he done as I told him?!" she thought angrily as she walked away to find her brother. As soon as she had left, Anya opened her eyes and made sure no one was in the room. She took up the knife Colin had left for her and began cutting herself free. After several minutes she could move her arms without any problem and she began with her feet's. Then she heard the sound of footsteps. She immediately hid the knife and pulled up the ropes on her arms again so Trina wouldn't see that she was free. But as the person came closer she could see it was Colin. The last couple of hours they had been talking, and she had found herself really staring to like the vampire, even though she definitely didn't trust him.  
  
"You have to hurry, she'll be back soon." He said shortly before returning into the shadows. Anya didn't waste any time before she continued freeing her feet. After almost fainting do to her lack of food and water she started to slowly get out of the huge room in the sewers. After walking for over an hour scared to death that Trina would find her she finally found a way out. When she was outside she thanked who ever had answered her prayers that the sun was still up and she slowly started walking in the direction she new lead to Xander and Buffy.  
  
*******************************  
  
Xander was deadly tired. He almost hadn't slept anything since Anya had been kidnapped. He was walking down a road, not really thinking about where he was going. And when he saw a woman who looked very much like his missing girlfriend lying just a few fetes in front of him he thought he was hallucinating. But the closer he got he started to realize that it actually was her. He cried from relief when he felt that she was breathing and had a pulse. And when she finally opened her eyes he felt like he'd never been happier.  
  
"Oh, Anya, I've been so worried!" he cried, not being able to tear his eyes from hers. She just gave him a faint smile in response.  
  
Xander quickly helped her up and started half carry her and half drag her after him towards Buffy's house.  
  
When they finally arrived they almost got knocked over by Dawn and Sara who was leaving the house.  
  
When the two girls saw whom Xander was carrying they yelped in surprise before helping him carry her inside.  
  
"Where did you find her? Did she tell you where she's been?" they asked at the same time, too happy to really care about the answers he gave them.  
  
"Where's Buffy?" Xander finally asked Dawn after he'd settled the sleeping Anya on the sofa.  
  
Dawn and Sara looked at each other not knowing if they should tell him that Buffy was out patrolling with Spike.  
  
"She's out" Dawn finally said, before walking into the kitchen to get some water and food for his girlfriend.  
  
Xander nodded and returned to Anya.  
  
*****************************  
  
Neither the vampire nor the slayer knew what to say. They had been walking side by side in silence for a half an hour before Spike finally said something.  
  
"So, ehm, do you think she's alive?"  
  
Buffy was deep in thought and didn't realize whom he was talking about.  
  
"Who?" she said confused. Spike looked at her like she's grown a second head.  
  
"Anya, of course. She's the reason why we are out tonight, remember?"  
  
Buffy blushed, realizing that she hadn't thought about Anya at all since they left the house.  
  
Her mind had been to occupied at wondering how close to the vampire she could walk without it looking like she was interested in him.  
  
"Oh," came her quiet response. 'Why am I acting like this?' the blond slayer thought.  
  
Spike looked at her, not sure what to think. She barely spoke to him, and when he had asked if he could join her on patrol she'd seemed like she would have wanted to say no. But still, every time she looked at him he was sure he could see something in her eyes. He just didn't know what. Or maybe it was just his own mind making it up.  
  
"We maybe should go back." He said, doing his best to catch her eyes. She nodded, making sure she didn't look at him. But as they both turned around they accidentally collided and fell, she landing on top of him. She felt herself starting to blush. She was just going to get up as she felt him taking her hands in his and looking in her eyes with hope.  
  
Without thinking she kissed him. At first he was to surprise to move, but then he started to kiss her back. The kiss grew more passionate and after a while Buffy needed to stop it to catch her breath. When she looked into his loving eyes again she couldn't understand how she could have been so stupid not waning him in her life. And why she hadn't admitted to her self that she loved him. When the realization hit her she quickly stood up, not knowing what to do. He looked up at her with a hurt expression on his face and he stood up also and started to walk away from her. She watched him go for a moment not knowing what to do.  
  
But then she realized she couldn't go on as she had, pretending she didn't love him. So she ran after him. When she finally came up to his side both of them just walked side by side in silence for a while until the slayer spoke.  
  
"I love you." This made the vampire turn his head towards her looking at her with a confused look.  
  
'Did she say what I think she said?' he thought as he studied her face closely.  
  
"I love you." She said again with a smile on her face waiting for him to respond. Then a wide smile spread across his face.  
  
"I love you too." He said, his voice merely a whisper. "I love you so bloody much!" then the vampire raised the blond slayer in his arms and kissed her.  
  
****************************  
  
Trina found her brother just after she'd discovered that Anya was gone. Or actually, she didn't find him; he came up to her.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she yelled at the younger vampire before hitting him in the face so hard that he stumbled backwards and fell over a chair.  
  
"Nice to see you to, beloved sister." He said sarcastically before getting back on his feet. She looked at him angrily  
  
"I should have figured." She said, not hiding her disgust. "You have always been soft, and you always will. You are a shame to our kind."  
  
Colin really didn't care about what she said. He was just so sick of being treated like a servant by his sister.  
  
"Calm down, Trina. I did you a favor." He said, smiling at her. But she just got angrier by his obvious lack of respect.  
  
"A favor? A favor! You got to be kidding me! All my work is ruined now because of you!" If looks could kill, Colin would fit in a shoebox by now. But he didn't let himself get intimidated by his sister.  
  
"Don't you understand Trina. Her friends would have come after you, and probably killed you." He looked at her softly. "I was just trying to keep you alive."  
  
She looked at him like he'd gone crazy and turned around.  
  
"We have to move out of this place. " she said without turning around. "She will tell them where we are."  
  
*********************************  
  
Anya hadn't eaten much. She knew she should, but she hadn't any appetite. So when everyone had come back, she started telling them what she'd been through.  
  
"After they took me, they brought me to this room in the sewers." She started trying to remember every detail.  
  
"Who are 'they'?" Gregory asked before she had a chance to continue.  
  
"Two vampires. One woman, Trina, and her little brother, Colin"  
  
Everyone turned around as Spike yelped in surprise.  
  
"Do you know who they are?" Buffy asked her boyfriend.  
  
Spike nodded.  
  
"Yes. Trina was turned by a master vampire about five years ago her in Sunnydale. I remember her because she was such a good fighter; she and her sire only stayed a couple off weeks before leaving to New York. Of what I heard, she was his favorite childe; he gave her everything she asked for. After about a year she was way beyond him when it came to fighting and knowledge. I maybe should say that her sire wasn't one of the smartest vampires."  
  
"Was?" Buffy interrupted.  
  
"I'll come to that, luv, he said before continuing his story. "About two years ago they returned her for a quick visit, which is when I started to get to know her. Well, during they're visit, she met her brother again. He didn't know that she was a vampire so he came with her to see her sire. Her sire, Jon, didn't want her to turn Colin, but she did anyway. From what I've heard they had a really huge fight about that. But to make a long story short, Jon decided to leave it for a while and temporarily accepted Colin into the family. They went away again but about six months ago Jon came back here to Sunnydale and you dusted him. He wasn't really that much of a fighter. I can't even really understand how he could become a master vampire." He looked around the room.  
  
"That's it?" Buffy asked. "So Trina and her brother are here to take revenge on me for killing Jon? Is that it?"  
  
"Could be." Spike agreed and sat down. "I don't know if that's it." Anya said. "Something is strange with Colin, he was supposed to hurt me, I heard Trina tell him that, but he didn't. He just sat down in front of me and asked me to tell him about the people I love."  
  
"What!" Buffy looked at her. "Did you?!"  
  
"Yeah, " Anya answered, not understanding the Slayer's reaction. "I didn't tell him anything that they could use against us, don't worry about that."  
  
"Then what did you tell him?" Xander asked taking her hand.  
  
"Just, you know, emotional stuff. How I felt about everyone. I thought it was kinda strange that he cared about that. I don't know, when I had told him how much I missed everyone, he looked like he was feeling sorry for me. And then he gave me a knife and told me to get out of there."  
  
All of her friends looked at her disbelivingly.  
  
"Why would he do that?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I don't know, he just did." Anya said, suddenly annoyed with the people standing there looking at her like she'd made it all up.  
  
"I believe you." Sara said shyly walking up at her. "I think I've dreamt about him."  
  
Everyone turned around looking at the dark-haired teenager.  
  
"Last night. I didn't think about it much because I thought it was just a normal dream, but now when I've heard you're story it's a lot of things that are exactly the same."  
  
"Like what?" Dawn said, encouraging the girl to continue.  
  
"Well, the man in my dream had a knife, and he asked me to tell me about the people I love. And when I had he just dropped the knife at my feet's and walked away. I ran after him to ask why he had threatened me with a knife, but then I saw that he was a vampire. But I couldn't see any evil in him, he just looked lonely." Sara looked down, not used at having so many peoples attention.  
  
"How did he look like?" Anya asked.  
  
"He was kinda short, and he had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He looked nice." Sara blushed and looked down at the floor.  
  
"That's him" Anya said, "that's definitely him."  
  
"What should we do?" Xander asked, looking at Buffy.  
  
"Was there anything more in you're dream, Sara?" Gregory said.  
  
The young slayer thought for a moment.  
  
"Well, not in that dream. But afterwards I had a really strange dream with bunnies running around me"  
  
"Bunnies!?" Anya interrupted, pulling her legs up onto the sofa.  
  
"It was only in her dream, An" Xander comforted her. Sara and Gregory looked confused at Anya.  
  
"She's afraid of bunnies." Buffy explained. "Go on Sara."  
  
"Well, as I said these bunnies where running around me, and all of them repeated 'make it stop, make it stop' over and over again." She swallowed. "It has probably nothing to do with the other dream, it's just now, when I think about it, I think the bunnies where speaking with his voice. You know, Colin's."  
  
"What can that mean?" Buffy asked no one in particular and sat down on a chair.  
  
"I don't know, but I will go consult my books and see if I can find some information about Trina and Colin." Gregory said, starting to go out through the door.  
  
"Good, Giles" Buffy said without thinking.  
  
"Pardon?" the Watcher said confused.  
  
"I'm sorry, mixed you up with someone else." Buffy said smiling at him.  
  
He still looked confused when he continued out the door.  
  
*******************************  
  
"We will do it tomorrow night." Trina said while packing up some weapons from a box." We have no reason to wait anymore since you screwed up our original plan." She looked at her brother angrily before continuing. "And this time, you shall do as I say."  
  
He looked at his older sister. She was actually planning on attacking the Slayers house. That was just stupid, she was going to get herself killed.  
  
"No," he said, trying to make sure his voice didn't show his worry. "I won't, it's suicide."  
  
A second later he was lying on the floor, holding one hand over his bleeding nose.  
  
"So we're just supposed to forget that that fucking slayer killed John?!" she screamed at him.  
  
"I don't care if I die, I just want to make sure that the slayer will suffer like I have. I might die, but if just one of her loved ones gets killed, I know it will be worth it. That was the reason I kidnapped that girl, Anya, I was going to drive her crazy, but first I would make her reveal things about the slayers friends that I could use to break them apart. But you stopped that, didn't you?" Trina said, becoming angrier for every word she spoke. "So now it will have to be enough with just killing some off them. But the slayer have to survive, so she can feel the pain from losing someone." She swallowed hard, "Like I have."  
  
Colin stared at her sister, seeing for the first time how crazy she had become. He'd thought she was just upset after her sire had died, but now he realized she had lost all sense.  
  
"Do as you wish, sister," he said, not able to hide the pain in his voice. "I will not help you."  
  
His sister just turned her back on him and walked out through the door.  
  
'Please don't let her die' he prayed, to whom ever listen to the prayers of the undead.  
  
******************************  
  
It was Spike who felt it first. He stood up and ran to the door at the same second as the big peace of wood came crashing in to the window setting the room on fire. Everyone but Buffy and Spike ran outside. Buffy was able to put down the fire with a blanket before it had time to spread. When they came outside they saw Sara fighting a red-haired vampire. She seemed to have the upper hand until the vampire suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the chest.  
  
Buffy and Spike where at her side in just a second, but it was already to late, and the vampire stood there looking at their tear streaked faces with a wide evil grin on her face. Suddenly she started to laugh insanely. Buffy quickly stood up with a stake in her hand ready to dust Trina, but before she had the chance, Dawn had came up from behind and staked her.  
  
"For Sara." She said calmly before falling to the ground crying uncontrollably.  
  
*********************************  
  
Colin had seen the whole thing from the shadows under a tree. When he saw his sister turn too dust from a stake in the young girls hand he felt like he got a big whole in him, like someone had ripped of half of his body. Immediately he ran forward with only one thought in his head, 'She killed Trina, Trina's dead'.  
  
Without any other weapons then his fists and fangs he attacked the young girl whom had killed his sister. He knew before he even came close to her that this was going to get him killed too, but he didn't care, he actually wanted to die.  
  
At the same time as his first blow hit the slayer's little sister he felt himself being dragged away by two pair of strong hands. The blond vampire and the slayer held him down while trying to calm him.  
  
Then he saw the woman he and Trina had kidnapped earlier coming closer to him. He immediately calmed down and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
"Make it stop." He pleaded with tears in his eyes.  
  
She nodded and pushed a stake through his heart.  
  
*********************************  
  
One week later, Sara was buried. The funeral was after the sunset so that also Spike could attend it. Gregory was leaving next morning so it wasn't only a good bye to the young slayer. Even though they had only known the girl for about two weeks, they all felt like they had known her all of their lives.  
  
All the way through the ceremony Buffy couldn't help but thinking that Sara's destiny could just as easily been hers. When she said her last good bye to the girl she couldn't stop the tears from coming. Spike walked up to her and put his arm around her.  
  
"Shh, it's okay luv. You couldn't have done anything to prevent it, no one knew what would happen," he said, thinking she was blaming herself for Sara's death. Buffy looked up at him, grateful for his support and leaned against him.  
  
"I'm not feeling guilty." She said to him, "I was just thinking, this could just as easily have been me when I was first chosen. I only wish the next slayer will be more lucky."  
  
Spike nodded and held her closer.  
  
After a while everyone started leaving. Only Sara's watcher and Dawn stayed behind.  
  
"She would have been a great slayer." Gregory said, wiping the tears from his cheeks.  
  
"She already was," Dawn answered before laying a small stake on the young slayer's grave.  
  
SARA LINDA LARSEN  
  
1988-2002  
  
BELOVED FRIEND  
  
WE MISS YOU 4-EVER  
  
  
  
The end  
  
A/N: Ok, finally it's finished. It was my first fic so I'm kinda worried that it's crap, but. Criticism is ok, that show what I can do better next time. I hope it was at least readable. Review! /mel 


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